Town Assembly

Anyone over the age of 18, who has been a resident of Arden for the last
six months, is automatically a member of the Town Assembly, which is the
village's governing body, a "pure" democracy. The Town Assembly has several committees,
shown below. Committee members are elected at the March meeting.

Meetings: 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of January, March, June and September, at the Gild Hall.

Standing Committees

Nominations are made at the January town meeting and may continue up to the March Advisory meeting. Election is at the March meeting. Two names must be nominated for each position open. All terms are for two years.

The Advisory Committee is made up of the chairpersons of all the standing committees, plus the town officers, the senior trustee, and the chair of the Board of Assessors. It acts as a coordinating committee and sets the agenda for the town meetings. The Advisory Committee Chair is elected at the March Town Meeting and serves for one year.

Archives Committee

The Archives Committee preserves the history of the village by collecting and preserving documents, photos, etc.; presenting displays and programs about Arden’s past, its people and its arts; and running the Arden Craft Shop Museum along with representatives of Ardentown and Ardencroft. The committee seeks grants to support the museum. Many residents volunteer to help the committee with its projects.

Auditing Committee

The Auditing Committee meets in June to examine specific accounts in the general ledgers of the town and trustees to asure that they are in agreement with the audit done by the CPA firm of Corcoran and Co., P.A. The Auditing Committee reports to the June Town Assembly.

Budget Committee

The Budget Committee organizes past and coming-year village expenditures for presentation to the September Town Assembly. It also prepares a three-year projection for the March Assembly. The September report forms the basis of the annual budget referendum. To prepare reports, committee members communicate with the other standing committees, the town secretary, treasurer and the trustees. This information-gathering activity provides an excellent overview of Arden’s governmental structure and its finances.

Buzz Ware Village Center Committee

The BWVC Committee oversees maintenance, security and use of the center (2119 The Highway), which is owned by the village and formerly was our community school. The committee also administers leases and contracts for the building and plans programs of interest to the community. This building is a community resource, and the committee encourages its use by residents. Committee meetings are held in the evening on a monthly basis, year round.

Community Planning Committee

The Community Planning Committee plans the “physical and cultural future of the community.” It works with other committees to plan projects that have a major impact on the village and to address forces impacting the Village from outside. The committee also has a few non-planning responsibilities that have historically fallen to it, including overseeing the Memorial Garden (cemetery).

Playground Committee

The Playground Committee assures that the playground equipment on the Arden Green and Sherwood Green is in good, safe condition. The committee inspects the equipment every other month during the winter and every month during the summer. Members spread mulch in the play areas as needed and contract for painting and repair. They also recommend purchase of new equipment.

Registration Committee

The Registration Committee conducts town elections and the annual referendum on the budget and Board of Assessors (held in the fall, after the September town meeting). Keeping track of the census and the list of registered voters are additional responsibilities of the committee.

Safety Committee

Broadly speaking, the committee handles safety issues. It replaces and installs stop signs, no parking signs, etc., throughout the town. It oversees the Town Watch for the three Ardens and acts as liason with the New Castle County Police, but it does NOT handle complaints: those should be referred to the police.

Appointed (Ad Hoc) Committees

From time to time, committees are appointed to handle specific tasks.

Johanna Schroeder Bequest Ad Hoc Committee

This committee was appointed to develop policies and procedures with dealing with Johanna Schroeder's generous donation of her estate to the village. Members are Alton Dahl (chair), Derrick Kennedy (secretary), Ron Meick, Sue Rothrock, and Steven Threefoot.

Town Treasurer: David Michelson, 475-9525. Oversees town finances in concert with the Budget and Audit Committees.

Town Secretary: Elaine Hickey, 475-3516. Takes minutes of town meetings and mails them to all residents before the next meeting. Also takes minutes for the Advisory and Civic Committees. Call the town secretary if you want to use Indian Circle, Field Theater or one of the greens for a special occasion such as a wedding.

Two positions are appointed:

Administrative assistant to the trustees
Julia McNeil, appointed by trustees.

Memorial Garden Representative
Ruth Bean, appointed by Community Planning.

Assessors

The Board of Assessors establishes the land rent rates for Arden leaseholds, according to the Georgist principle of “full rental value” of the land. Since Henry George himself never spelled out how to calculate “full rental value,” this is no simple task. Nominations are made at the September town meeting; election is by referendum in the fall, using the Hare System of Proportional Representation. The assessors elected in November, 2008, are (in order elected): Alton Dahl (convenor), Denis O’Regan, Brooke Bovard, Walter Borders, Tom Wheeler, Mary Marconi, and Warren Rosenkranz.

Notes

Convenors are those committee members who receive the most votes for their committee at the March Town Meeting election. They are responsible for convening their committees within 30 days after their election, at which time a committee chair is elected and the year's work outlined.

Committee chairs are responsible for scheduling committee meetings, attending (or assigning someone to attend) Advisory Committee meetings, giving (or having someone give) reports at Town Meetings, nominating two (2) people for every upcoming vacancy at the January Advisory meeting, keeping (or have someone keep) minutes of all committee meetings, and ensuring that the committee fulfills its responsibilities.

Alternates and Procedure for Filling a Vacancy: Alternates are the next-highest vote getters in the most recent election. They are recorded for the convenience of the committee as possible replacements for a vacancy. Should a vacancy occur in a committee, nominations are made at the next Town Meeting to complete the unfinished term. The committee may make a nomination; that nominee may be the alternate, but could be someone else. Election is by voice vote if there is only one nominee, by voice vote or secret ballot if there are two or more nominees.

*Ties in municipal elections are resolved at the next Town Meeting. Ties for “Alternates” do not need to be resolved, since both are possible replacements should a vacancy occur in the committee.